The Wake

Rugby isn’t just bald, gap-toothed hooligans the size of boxcars playing overseas. Women at the “U” have a lot of that hooligan gene as well. But forget all that bald, gap-toothed, boxcar stuff. The University of Minnesota Women’s Rugby Club is the No. 1 team in the nation for Division II rugby programs and is participating in the national championship this spring. These women could pass through security posing as a gymnastic squad or even a basketball team. By the looks of them, it would be hard to imagine these same women engaging in one of the rawest forms of physical sport. Imagine getting in an 80-minute car wreck without your seatbelt on. Rugby, although slightly similar to American football, has one distinct difference: no pads. “While playing, the adrenaline is there so I don’t …

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And the list goes on and on for Gophers’ hoops star Lindsay Whalen. The senior guard surpassed Carol Ann Shudlick’s career-scoring record with one of her seven three pointers in the Gopher women’s loss against Michigan State January 25. Whalen, a senior from Hutchinson, MN, should be used to personal accolades and achievements by this point in her career. Before the start of this season, Whalen was named to the prestigious Wooden Women’s Award Preseason All-American list with the other top 29 women ball players in the country. Last season, she collected a Kodak first team All-American honor along with a second team AP All-American award. The sports management major also won a gold medal with the USA Young Women’s Team in Croatia last summer. But, like many stars, Whalen doesn’t …

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The University of Minnesota’s synchronized swimming team can be seen practicing on Mondays and Wednesdays in the diving hole of the aquatic center. There are nine girls who all look alike, dressed in very similar bathing suits, wearing matching swim caps and twirling in circles at the same time. It looks like they are practicing for underwater foosball.The synchronized swimming’s a-team is made up of eight girls, coached by Sarah Nelson and Jessica Kampa. They compete against the other Big Ten schools throughout the spring semester and, at each competition, the team is judged upon two things: its technical merit and artistic impression. These are put on a ten-point scale and the team with the most points brings home a victory. The technical merit judges how synchronized the team looks and the height during …

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When Amber Struzyk was a freshman on the University of Minnesota Dance team, she witnessed the end of a historical run of nine straight championships by the University of Memphis dance squad. Struzyk, now in her third season as dance coach for the Gophers, hopes her team can make its own mark in the history books. So far, things are going according to plan. The team took first place in the College Dance Division for the second consecutive year and became the first division I-A team in the last decade to win back-to-back national championships. An impressive feat, especially when you consider the team had seven newcomers, including six freshmen. “The rookies were excited and wanted to win, and the vets were hungry and wanted to defend,” Struzyk said. …

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Sure the 35-yard field goal would give the Gophers a victory over border rival Wisconsin and its first nine-wine season since 1905. But Gopher kicker/punter Rhys Lloyd had added incentive.“Coach [Glen Mason] told me that if I made the kick, the whole team was going to love me because we were going to have pizza for supper,” Lloyd said. “And I said, ‘As long as there’s extra.’”The 21-year-old, Recreation, Parks and Leisure major came to Apple Valley, MN from Dover, England in 1997 after his dad got a job as a professional soccer coach. He was a two-time All American at Rochester Community Technical College and transferred to the University last year. Lloyd, or Winston Churchill, the name Mason gave him last year after he couldn’t remember Lloyd’s name at practice, grew up playing soccer, …

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The men’s club soccer time lost in the semifinals of the National Tournament in Tuscaloosa, AL, but not before spoiling other teams’ championship hopes. The highlight of the tournament was a 3-0 trouncing of defending champion Weber State, coach Alan Merrick said.“They [Weber State] were mesmerized by our performance,” Merrick said. “We came out and took it to them early in the game.”The Gophers beat Arizona State, Texas and Weber State and then loss to Utah Valley State in the semis. Nick DeMeuse scored two of the three goals in the Weber State game and had an outstanding tournament, Merrick said. Viktor Adamcsek also played exceptional at midfield, but Merrick said his team ran out of gas with only four available subs due to injuries.“We felt happy and sad at the same time,” Adamcsek said. …

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In 2002 Gophers fans cheered as the Minnesota’s wrestling team successfully defended its 2001 national title. Last April, Dinkytown was once again swarming with fans after the men’s hockey team accomplished a repeat when they defeated New Hampshire in the national championship. Gopher fans might have another two-peat champ to cheer for, or cheer with, if the top-ranked U of M dance team pulls off another title in Orlando this January. Yes, the women’s dance team, the ladies who bust a move on the Williams Arena floor during Gophers’ hoop games and cut-a-rug on the Metrodome carpet during football games, are looking to defend their own 2003 title they earned last year at the College National Dance Championship. Some people might only think of the 17-member dance team as great entertainment during game breaks and as cheerleaders when the …

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The annual border battle between the Minnesota Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers brings out the best each state has to offer. Each team plays its heart out for the Paul Bunyan Axe, a hallowed symbol of the blood, sweat and tears expelled throughout the rivalry’s history. But the players are not the only ones leaving their emotions out on the field. Gopher and Badger fans gather together each year happy to exchange hateful cheers, partake in some beer drinking and of course, watch quality Big Ten football. This year’s game ended with Rhys Lloyd and rest of the Maroon and Gold streaking across the Metrodome carpet, ripping the axe away from the Badgers’ sideline. Lloyd drilled the game-winning, 35-yard field goal giving the Gophers a 37-34 victory in front of 59,543 crazed fans. And those draped …

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A wave of splashes rippled through the pool at the University Aquatic Center Saturday, October 18 as the men’s water polo team took control of the ball early in the first period of the Division Championships 4th place game versus Iowa State. Amidst the splashes, Iowa’s defense couldn’t hold up captain Chris Hasling. He ducked his head in the water, quickly swam around the defense and went for the kill. The ball flew past the Iowa goalie and Hasling had the game’s first goal.Minnesota had the upper hand throughout, defeating Iowa 5-3 to claim fourth place in the Division Championship. It was the second year in a row the Gophers finished the Division in fourth. A day earlier, the Gophers lost to South Dakota in their first game 10-3. Saturday’s second game against Nebraska came …

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Flash lights popped and fans cheered. The glowing lights of Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium shined on the freshly cut grass still showing mower lines.And as the men’s soccer club posed for pictures at midfield after a 3-1 victory in its last regular season game against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, players tried not to get caught up in the moment. Instead they shifted their focus from the regular season to a much grander stage: the national tournament.But this year’s squad is different than those of the past. With a host of new players, including some that have never played in a national tournament, it’s easy to be uncertain about how the players will get on the field come tournament time. Last year’s squad lost in the quarterfinals at nationals, but players and coaches aren’t worried …

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Those who don’t know the athletic endeavor that is sailing, might at the mention of the sport, conjure up images of smarmy gentry sipping martinis at dockside and occasionally taking the dingy out for a spin.Once you meet the University Sailing Club you will get to see the sport for what it really is: a lot of work and even more fun.“Our practices run three days a week until it basically snows,” senior co-captain Kelly Nichols said. “But it’s a lot easier to practice on the lake in the fall before the water freezes, than it is in the spring when it’s just thawing out.”Until that first snowfall, the 17-member sailing team practices three days a week at Wayzata Yacht Club on Lake Minnetonka before they have a regatta each weekend. With the weather turning …

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Viktor Adamcsek is no stranger to winning in national and international soccer competition. The University of Minnesota men’s club soccer team hopes its 24-year-old midfielder’s past experience and success will lead to future wins for the Gophers.Adamcsek, who is originally from Budapest, Hungary, has played in an estimated 27 national and international games. As a teenager, he played for the Hungarian Youth National team. His high school team even won the USA Cup in 1997. Viktor met his future host family at the Cup and they offered him a place to stay if he wanted to study abroad. Viktor came to Minnesota two and a half years ago. Now a junior, Adamcsek is majoring in Kinesiology. He is excited about this year’s team and its chances in the national tournament. “The competition level differs from …

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There are no trophies, no medals and no award ceremonies involved. All that’s on the line for the intramural flag-football championship is pride and a t-shirt. It was the Spartans and Juice box battling it out for the championship on the dirt of Bierman fields on a chilly October 26th night. Juice Box lost twice during the regular season, both ending on the last play of the game. So when the A-League Championship came down to the last play, anxiety filled the winter air. And that anxiety soon turned to disappointment after a converted extra point gave the Spartans a 27-26 victory in double overtime. With the game tied 20-20 after regulation, the Spartans got the ball first in the overtime period. In overtime, each team gets four plays from the 20-yard line …

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After an undefeated regular season last year, The University of Minnesota men’s club soccer team still has unfinished business left on the field. A quarterfinal lose at last year’s national tournament in Bakersfield, Calif. have the Gophers excited to get the ball rolling in 2003 – this time with a new crop of ballers. “We have at least 11 new players. That’s more than half the squad that has been changed,” Merrick said. “We’re trying to get them into a system of play and an understanding of what we are trying to achieve.”The new-look Gophers won their first game this year against St. John’s University, but lost their next two against Macalester and Carelton. While Merrick said his team played well against Macalester despite losing, he considers the Carleton game a wake-up call for his …

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